IKEA gives a bike to ALL U.S. employees
From: http://bikeportland.org/2010/12/07/see-the-bike-ikea-just-gave-all-...
See the bike IKEA just gave all 12,400 of its U.S. employees
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on December 7th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Every IKEA employee in the U.S. now
owns a bicycle. See which one below.
(Photo © J. Maus)
owns a bicycle. See which one below.
(Photo © J. Maus)
As you might have already heard, global furniture retailer IKEA gave out a free bike as a thank you gift
to all 12,400 of their U.S. employees today (including 350 of them at
the Portland location).
In a statement about the gifts, IKEA US President Mike Ward said:
"It's been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen. Our big reveal today will be a fun day as we unload 12,400 new
bikes at IKEA US locations. This is our way of saying 'thanks IKEA
co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.' We hope
this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a
healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport."
Given IKEA's European roots, I was very curious what type of bike they'd hand out. From the photo below (supplied by their PR firm), it
looks like they went with something more typical of the American market.
The bike has a mountain-bike inspired frame, an upright stem and bars,
and a triple-chainring up front. I can't tell the make or model because
the frame has been customized with IKEA colors on the downtube.
(Photo: IKEA US)
It's great to see a large company like IKEA make such big statement about the benefits of bicycling. Hopefully other companies will follow
suit. The savings in employee health claims alone will likely make this
a very smart investment.
Views: 368
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on
-
Well, maybe it will at least encourage other employers to do the same (hopefully better quality bikes and companies that make shopping more accessible to cyclists).
Can't help but try to look on the bright side of things sometimes...
Mark Kenseth said:Everyone here is making similar statements to the comments from the bikeportland website where I found the news.
Obviously IKEA can't sneak this past the savy bicycling community :)
When I read the headline initially I was happy, then I saw the bike and I was sad, because the bikes are not commuter type bikes. It might be a lot of work for some people to find accessories to make it a commuter bike, let alone bike to the store. Couldn't IKEA have consulted a biking organization?
Nice try, IKEA...but you gave out a bike that is much like your furniture: nice looking, but not for the long-haul. (As I write from a laptop resting on an IKEA coffee table.)
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Lloyd on
-
I only know the short (Meacham) stretch from McConnor Pkwy over I-90 to the Schaumburg conference center, but I thought that part was okay. usually I ride along McConnor Pkway and cross Meacham.
M.A.R.K. said:There is a sidewalk on Meacham, and the last time I rode on it it was in terrible shape from Algonquin until you get over 90. littered with broken glass, stone and whatever else has been dropped or thrown out of windows. Has all that been cleaned up and in better condition? Is that(what looks to be a greenway)path new on the east side of the street? I actually have to go there on Friday, so it would help me a great deal to know, I gotta hit up the DMV for a new state id.
Alan Lloyd said:There is a bike path running along McConnor Pkwy and along a lot of Meacham ...
http://tinyurl.com/28mqcpc
M.A.R.K. said:That is what I was thinking..
Plus the IKEA here in Schaumburg does not have any access by bike being bordered by 2 Hwys., Golf to the South and Meacham to the west, both of which are like expressways. Well at least Meacham is.
Duppie said:Looks like a cheap made-in-China piece of crap.
Fits well with the cheap made-in-China crap they sell in their stores
-
-
I seem to remember them wanting ramps directly onto & off of I-90 for the store in Schaumburg, but didn't get them! They may have even offered to pay something towards their construction? No help to cyclists, of course.
H3N3 said:I don't feel like digging for any supporting articles right now, but IKEA does have a history of only considering accessibility to major highways when choosing new sites. There was one about 10 years ago that they wanted to open relatively equidistant to several secondary British cities (with the idea that -everyone- has to drive there, of course) but the local government asked that IKEA help pat for some of the automotive infrastructure that would move customers to and from their store, and IKEA promptly lost interest.
About 8 years ago IKEA was looking for a second site in Chicago; some may remember that they were initially looking at the Elston/Armitage area but it was shot down because it was thought the infrastructure would not be able to handle the car traffic; shortly therafter it was reported that they were lookinig at 33rd/Damen where ultimately a Target was built-- easy on/off to the Stevenson; ultimately they claimed that the city was not willing to offer adequate incentives; they ended up putting that store outside of Minneapolis instead (hey-- you could probably make the trip in 5 1/2 hours if you didn't stop, right?).
The Orange line actually crosses the property they were looking at at 33rd/Damen-- imagine what a gesture it would be if they helped fund a stop =inside= IKEA.
Shortly thereafter it was confirmed that IKEA was supposed to be part of the Rez-Mar development at Roosevelt/Clark, but that crashed and burned. Same deal-- the red and orange lines meet on that property I think-- they could have had a transfer station attached to the store.
jamimaria said:It certainly would have been nice to see a more commuter friendly bike being give out, but at least it's something! Maybe next they could encourage their stores to lobby for easier bike access in the suburban messes where most of their stores are located. Right now I'd be kind of scared to ride my bike to an ikea store.
-
Permalink Reply by Mark Kenseth on
-
Oh, I'm looking at the bright side. You have a great point. I hope other employers promote bike riders. I posted the article because it's a move in the right direction, but if IKEA wants to get their employees to ride a bike to work, it's not the best bike. If they want the young and middle aged employees to go ride around the trails, good bike. I'd be happy with it...if I could put a rack on the back of it. I wonder if it's rackable.
Julie Hochstadter said:Well, maybe it will at least encourage other employers to do the same (hopefully better quality bikes and companies that make shopping more accessible to cyclists).
Can't help but try to look on the bright side of things sometimes...
Mark Kenseth said:
When I read the headline initially I was happy, then I saw the bike and I was sad, because the bikes are not commuter type bikes. It might be a lot of work for some people to find accessories to make it a commuter bike, let alone bike to the store. Couldn't IKEA have consulted a biking organization?
-
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on
-
Looks like a seatpost rack is the only option apart from kludging a standard rack on there somehow.
Who's going to post the first eBay/cl IKEA bike listing?
-
Permalink Reply by Duppie on
-
H3N3 said:Looks like a seatpost rack is the only option apart from kludging a standard rack on there somehow.
Who's going to post the first eBay/cl IKEA bike listing?
Done
-
Permalink Reply by igz on
-
great way to be ungrateful.
if the employees dont want the bikes, they should be regifted to someone who could use them or truely appreciate them.
-
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on
-
Seriously? I'm sure every business would like this. (I'd like to see a concept drawing of the mess - cloverleaf interchanges as far as the eye can see.)
Alan Lloyd said:I seem to remember them wanting ramps directly onto & off of I-90 for the store in Schaumburg, but didn't get them! They may have even offered to pay something towards their construction? No help to cyclists, of course.
-
-
Not quite momentous enough for its own thread, but guess which retailer is looking at Broadway and Diversey?
-
-
Wow. $39 as of right now.
Duppie said:H3N3 said:Looks like a seatpost rack is the only option apart from kludging a standard rack on there somehow.
Who's going to post the first eBay/cl IKEA bike listing?
Done
-
-
Interesting. Thanks for posting
My main beef with "that" retailer has always been the enormous land requirements for their developments. At least they are adopting to the dense neighborhood by offering no surface parking.
All other concerns that I have about this retailer have little to do with their choice of location.
H3N3 said:Not quite momentous enough for its own thread, but guess which retailer is looking at Broadway and Diversey?
-
-
I wonder what bike Mr. Kamprad rides.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9JSBRSG0.htm
"Swiss business magazine Bilanz says Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad's fortune rose by 3 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) over the past year. Bilanz says Swedish-born Kamprad tops the list of Switzerland's 300 richest individuals and families for the ninth straight year. It estimates the furniture magnate's total fortune at 38-39 billion francs."
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next ›
Groups
-
Critical Mass discussion
262 members
-
Chicagoland Beer Explora…
203 members
-
Chicago Randonneurs
269 members
-
Walk Bike Transit
63 members
-
British Bicycles of Chic…
172 members
© 2008-2016 The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.
Powered by
